Common English Bible CEB
English Standard Version ESV
1 Brothers and sisters, I couldn't talk to you like spiritual people but like unspiritual people, like babies in Christ.
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But I, brothers, could not address you as spiritual people, but as people of the flesh, as infants in Christ.
2 I gave you milk to drink instead of solid food, because you weren't up to it yet.
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I fed you with milk, not solid food, for you were not ready for it. And even now you are not yet ready,
3 Now you are still not up to it because you are still unspiritual. When jealousy and fighting exist between you, aren't you unspiritual and living by human standards?
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for you are still of the flesh. For while there is jealousy and strife among you, are you not of the flesh and behaving only in a human way?
4 When someone says, "I belong to Paul," and someone else says, "I belong to Apollos," aren't you acting like people without the Spirit?
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For when one says, “I follow Paul, ” and another, “I follow Apollos, ” are you not being merely human?
5 After all, what is Apollos? What is Paul? They are servants who helped you to believe. Each one had a role given to them by the Lord:
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What then is Apollos? What is Paul? Servants through whom you believed, as the Lord assigned to each.
6 I planted, Apollos watered, but God made it grow.
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I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the growth.
7 Because of this, neither the one who plants nor the one who waters is anything, but the only one who is anything is God who makes it grow.
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So neither he who plants nor he who waters is anything, but only God who gives the growth.
8 The one who plants and the one who waters work together, but each one will receive their own reward for their own labor.
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He who plants and he who waters are one, and each will receive his wages according to his labor.
9 We are God's coworkers, and you are God's field, God's building.
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For we are God’s fellow workers. You are God’s field, God’s building.
10 I laid a foundation like a wise master builder according to God's grace that was given to me, but someone else is building on top of it. Each person needs to pay attention to the way they build on it.
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According to the grace of God given to me, like a skilled master builder I laid a foundation, and someone else is building upon it. Let each one take care how he builds upon it.
11 No one can lay any other foundation besides the one that is already laid, which is Jesus Christ.
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For no one can lay a foundation other than that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ.
12 So, whether someone builds on top of the foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, grass, or hay,
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Now if anyone builds on the foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, straw—
13 each one's work will be clearly shown. The day will make it clear, because it will be revealed with fire—the fire will test the quality of each one's work.
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each one’s work will become manifest, for the Day will disclose it, because it will be revealed by fire, and the fire will test what sort of work each one has done.
14 If anyone's work survives, they'll get a reward.
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If the work that anyone has built on the foundation survives, he will receive a reward.
15 But if anyone's work goes up in flames, they'll lose it. However, they themselves will be saved as if they had gone through a fire.
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If anyone’s work is burned up, he will suffer loss, though he himself will be saved, but only as through fire.
16 Don't you know that you are God's temple and God's Spirit lives in you?
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Do you not know that you are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit dwells in you?
17 If someone destroys God's temple, God will destroy that person, because God's temple is holy, which is what you are.
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If anyone destroys God’s temple, God will destroy him. For God’s temple is holy, and you are that temple.
18 Don't fool yourself. If some of you think they are worldly-wise, then they should become foolish so that they can become wise.
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Let no one deceive himself. If anyone among you thinks that he is wise in this age, let him become a fool that he may become wise.
19 This world's wisdom is foolishness to God. As it's written, He catches the wise in their cleverness.
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For the wisdom of this world is folly with God. For it is written, “He catches the wise in their craftiness, ”
20 And also, The Lord knows that the thoughts of the wise are silly.
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and again, “The Lord knows the thoughts of the wise, that they are futile. ”
21 So then, no one should brag about human beings. Everything belongs to you—
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So let no one boast in men. For all things are yours,
22 Paul, Apollos, Cephas, the world, life, death, things in the present, things in the future—everything belongs to you,
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whether Paul or Apollos or Cephas or the world or life or death or the present or the future—all are yours,
23 but you belong to Christ, and Christ belongs to God.
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and you are Christ’s, and Christ is God’s.
Copyright © 2011 Common English Bible
The Holy Bible, English Standard Version® (ESV®) © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. All rights reserved. ESV Text Edition: 2025